Energy efficiency has been identified as the key to affordable and sustainable energy systems and is a highly cost-effective way to address rising energy demands. However, while energy efficiency measures equire a large capital outlay upfront, it also ensures payback in the form of reduced energy expenditure within a short span of time. Hence, energy conservation through efficiency improvements is seen as an ttractive starting point to help reduce global carbon emissions.

In regions with a hot and humid climate, the use of ceiling fans is common. This electrical product traditionally uses an AC power-based induction motor but with various inefficiencies caused due to rotor copper losses, iron or core losses, etc. The recent DC technology uses a Commutator and Brush that not only require high maintenance due to wear and tear, but also causes sparking due to switching action, voltage drop due to resistance caused during sliding contacts – all leading to electrical losses, and heating, in turn reducing the life of the items like bearings.

Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors, alternatively, use an electronic-based commutation, which eliminates the use of mechanical commutation and brushes by deploying a hall-effect sensor that sense the magnet rotor position with respect to stator and controls the motor driving switches. This, in return, leads to efficiency improvement, along with a longer life and low maintenance requirement for parts.

The BLDC motor, developed by Atomberg, and used in the fans called the Gorilla, has improved the electronic switching even further through a proprietary algorithm called AtomSENSE. This helps measure the back Electromotive Force (EMF) induced in the windings to sense the precise rotor position in place of hall effect sensors, thus improving the overall motor reliability. This, in turn, leads to increased efficiency resulting in a lower power consumption of 28W for air delivery of 230m³/min (maximum set point), as compared to a conventional and 5-star BEE labeled fan that consumes 75-80W and 50-55W, respectively.

The company sources superior quality components from established and reliable manufacturers and conducts stringent testing on the final product before dispatch. As a result, more than 0.1 million made-in-India fans have been sold with a reported cumulative failure of less than 1%.

For the Business to Business (B2B) sector, Atomberg has a dedicated marketing team to address the requirements of the market and a strong network with leading ESCOs, green building architects and electrical contractors. Business to Customer (B2C) sales are achieved through Atomberg’s own website in addition to other e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and PayTM where the products are listed.

The Gorilla ceiling fan is an excellent example of energy efficiency measures where technological intervention has led to substantial reduction of energy use without compromising on air delivery. If used for commercial and industrial applications where the ceiling fans run up to 24 hours in a day, energy wastages can be reduced to a large extent, leading to an early payback. The estimated GHG emission reduction by wide adoption of this technology is likely to be 4 million tonnes by 2026.